[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 1, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CALL FOR APPOINTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SECRETARY

  (Mr. KINGSTON asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, today is the first day of March. Today is 
the first day of Lent. Today is the first day of the third month that 
we do not have a U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
  Is having a Secretary of Agriculture important? Apparently not to 
this administration. Or maybe it is agriculture issues that are not 
important to this administration.
  And what are agriculture issues? Food stamps, nutrition, School Lunch 
Programs, to name a few. Yes, that is right. For all the bureaucratic 
bellyaching over School Lunch Programs, neither the President nor the 
Senate Democrats have pushed for the confirmation of a new Secretary of 
Agriculture.
  Could there be a slight disconnect here, Mr. Speaker? And what else 
besides the School Lunch Program is in jeopardy or up for grabs? The 
1995 farm bill, the Delaney clause, the Market Promotion Program, minor 
use pesticides. But forget these. How about every item on your table, 
everything you buy at the grocery store?
  Is it not important enough to the American consumers for the 
President and the U.S. Senate to confirm a new Secretary of 
Agriculture?


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